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Sunday, March 13, 2016

THE MARK IN AMERICA, ISSUE #2, PAGE 10

Here I break the 6-panel
grid of the previous 2 pages with 3 horizontal panels. I probably could have
continued it here, but I liked the variation of rhythm.

What could have played as 6
beats (panels) become 3 long flowing beats (panels), propelled by the
left-to-right audience eye read. My main regret is in panel 1, where Agent
Pierce’s hand (that Burovnik yanks the drawing from) is directly below the
drawing, with the unfortunate result that one sees the proffered drawing first,
THEN Pierce’s hand having the drawing yanked from it. Ouch. Maybe it would’ve
helped if I’d kept her arm completely within frame instead of letting the elbow
drop below the lower margin.

This page is an example of
the influence of Ernst Lubistch. In panel 1, Burovnik cynically, casually whips
the randomly assembled crowd into a frenzy as his daughter and his stooges
watch with amusement. The deadpan mirth continues in panel 2; Pierce watches
with angry surprise as Burovnik crumples her drawing into a ball while lecturing
the elderly Archonist on the virtue of free speech then tosses it behind him in
panel 3 as he sends the irate mob to their impromptu battle stations. I’m
thinking of the droll satire in “To Be or Not To Be”, not just of the Nazi
invaders of Poland, but of narcissist artists and sexual relationships. Playing
the action out as 3 long panels makes it feel like a choreographed dance (a
satiric comment on politics) rather than an accumulation of incidents (which I
suppose would be a different comment).

This is page10 for "The Mark" issue 2,
volume 2, otherwise known as "The Mark In America", published by Dark
Horse Comics in January 1994. Written by Mike Barr, drawn by Brad Rader.